posted
In the new TV Guide, Rick Berman is going to address whether or not there will be a gay crewman on Enterprise. Who knows, maybe it might be one of the senior crew? My vote's for Charlie Tucker, he is a cutie
Thoughts?
-------------------- "Keep your shirt on, lieutenant."
Seriously, as a straight-but-not-narrow man, I'm all for a gay main character, or at least a gay recurring character. There have now been, what, forty main characters (including Enterprise), so statistically, it's just about time for at least one non-straight to come around, even if they're bi.
quote: I'm the princess of Canada, but I can't back that up with paperwork. Dr. Evil on the Jerry Springer Show, from the deleted scenes from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
-------------------- Fry- How will we get out of this? George Takei's head- Maybe we can use some kind of auto-destruct code like one-A, two-B, three-C... (Bender's head blows up) Bender- Now everybody knows! -Futurama's obligatory Star Trek episode
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
Let me say this very carefully. I am a proponet of homosexual rights. I would like to see a gay character in a sci-fi show. However, I would not like to see a gay character in Star Trek. Star Trek is written by conservative men and women. Their views are shaped by the ideology of their beliefs. A gay character would be a cliched gay character. So, no, I don't want a gay character in Star Trek.
Registered: Sep 1999
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posted
A gay character, added simply to HAVE a token gay character, will already BE a cliched character. Anything used to refer to the character's homosexuality will be cliched.
Se, that's the problem with this idea. There's not a whole lot of original ideas you can do about a gay character that aren't comedic.
With different races/creeds, generally all you need is to be SEEN, and people go 'oh, he's Patagonian. Cool.' But only rarely will stories revolve around a non-alien character's race, because humans are supposed to have progresed beyond that. 'Beyond the Farthest Stars' being a notable exception, but the only one I can think of. Further focus on a character's ethnic heritage runs the risk of becoming a 'Chekov joke' - "It vas inwented in RUSSIA!"
It's not worth creating a character JUST for a throwaway reference.
I can see it now...
"Lieutenant, these aliens live according to the Arisiotaelian Ideals." "Aristotle was gay, you know." "Oh, shut UP about it already!"
-------------------- "The best defense is not a good offense. The best defense is a terrifyingly accurate and devastatingly powerful offense, with multiply-overlapping kill zones and time-on-target artillery strikes." -- Laurence, Archangel of the Sword
posted
Well, I don't think it'd be appropriate to have a 'gay character' for the reasons stated above - like having the character gay just for the sake of it. I think another main reason is that as they've stated before this still isn't the "perfect" Federation that we've seen in TOS and TNG eras... so it's like well we've never seen gay characters in the 'perfect' eras... but we'll see them in the still reaching perfection era... doesn't sound right to me.
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
quote:In the new TV Guide, Rick Berman is going to address whether or not there will be a gay crewman on Enterprise.
Duh...just the fact that Berman is going to address this topic is proof enough for me that there WILL be a gay character.
How do I feel about it: One word: "Different?" (yes, the question mark is intentional).
If Berman is introducing a gay character simply because he thinks it's going to be different or innovative, then I have news for him. It's not. Just watch shows like Six Feet Under, Survivor, Big Brother, or even older shows like SOAP for that matter.
Honestly, I really don't care if there's a gay character in Star Trek. I would care more if he or she couldn't act, or on the flip side, OVERacts.
Mr. Berman, if you really want something different, create an alien character who considers the intake of food to be something not done in the presence of others, but has no compunction about shitting all over the mess hall's floors during lunchtime. Now THAT's different.
[ August 19, 2001: Message edited by: Dukhat ]
-------------------- "A film made in 2008 isn't going to look like a TV series from 1966 if it wants to make any money. As long as the characters act the same way, and the spirit of the story remains the same then it's "real" Star Trek. Everything else is window dressing." -StCoop
Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
I think many areas of the general makeup of the series 'Enterprise' is on shaky ground already - meaning, as a television enterprise (no pun intended) the creators are uncertain whether it will be a hit or a miss. This goes for any show really, only the ratings after the first season will tell if it is so. In this situation it might be a bit foolhardy to take a potential risk by a having a recurring gay role on a show which is such an important institution whose future depends heavily on early ratings. This is not necessarily how I believe it should be, just what I expect is the reality of the situation with the studios.
So I don't think there's any way there can be a gay character in the immediate future. Maybe in the second or third season (if the show's a success) one might be introduced if it is universally agreed upon.
But I 'think' I have to agree with targetemployee on this. In fact, my mind isn't totally made up because I do have concerns, however. But let's think about it for a minute...
There would be only one reason to introduce a gay character, and that would be the important and very relevant issue of pushing for gay equality etc. I'm all for it, but (and this is my opinion only, and I hope I do not upset anyone in saying this) is that I would prefer Star Trek to be not too in-your-face as far as being a soap box. I prefer the subtle allegories that have always been a strength, and gay allegories have been done very well in TNG and DS9 (Outcast, Rejoined), and there's always room for this type of story, but I don't think a recurring gay character would be the popular answer. One fears the camp cliche's, and precisely how interesting would it be for the majority when following the romantic adventures of this gay character? I am not homophobic, nor do I have any problem with homosexuals, I just fear Star Trek is not the suitable place to explore these issues in any depth. Star Trek is already a genre specific show, and although the characters are possibly the most important element, it is not a soap opera, and indeed, the heterosexual romantic relationship issues have in the past fallen short, and ended up being a little uninteresting to tell the truth. So I can't see how it would be any different in a gay environment.
But by the same token, I'm not adverse to simply 'having' a gay character in the cast, whether recurring or semi-recurring, ie to simply show them as an equal member of the crew, but that would be in a way a cop-out, because if you're not going to do anything meaningful with a gay character, then why have a gay character in the first place...?
This is a difficult issue, with plenty of room for further debate....
-------------------- "To the Enterprise and the Stargazer. Old girlfriends we'll never meet again." - Scotty
posted
My only problem with having a gay Character on Trek is that I'm betting it will turn out to be a stereotyped character, I'm sure they will have him speaking in a soft voice and make him some sarcastic twit who's first line once he enters the ship will be "Oh my god who was the interior designer"
That would be totally wrong , I also disagree with them just having some token gay character , if hes going to be a character I better see some development.
The bad part about Star Trek is that alot of the time these characters are all Stereotypes , I was reading some boards yesterday and came upon a post from a british trek fan who was wondering about which accent Lt. Reed will have , he pointed out that though England is a small country there are many distinct accents , he was hoping that this character didnt have some forced accent like Alex Siddig as Bashir who he says sounds more like a South African then a Englishman
Lee , I can see Archer being gay I mean the way he snaped at T'Pol , I'll expect a cat fight mid season , That maybe their ace in the hole incase of a ratings slump
[ August 19, 2001: Message edited by: Obese Penguin ]
-------------------- My Mother never found the irony in calling me a son of a bitch
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
I can tell you, being English that Siddig El Fadil (a good old fashioned English name, lol), had a straight English accent, without any regional dialect. The guy IS English, and certainly there was no hint of South African.
But in England there are literally dozens and dozens of region accents, all distinctly different than the other. Although we all speak English, some people may find it hard to understand people from other cities/counties etc. The accents, dialect and slang are very thick and play a big part. But I guarantee that Reed will speak straight 'southern counties' English, (that which we call stright and un-accented, ie no regional accent).
-------------------- "To the Enterprise and the Stargazer. Old girlfriends we'll never meet again." - Scotty
posted
You know, the fact that there has to be a thread about people's opinions regarding a potential gay chartacter shows how important it may be to have one. Could you imagine someone posting a thread saying, "What if Enterprise has a black character?" or "What if Enterprise has a female character?" It's an intersting look at how far our species has to go before we can claim to be truly accepting. A gay character should be no more shocking (or worth mentioning) than a black character.
And in regards to Enterprise needing high ratings, shows like Will and Grace prove that even a total "gay show" can do well, and both Buffy and Xena show that the younger action fan set doesn't give a shit. Given that Star Trek fans generally pride themselves on being openminded anc culturally cutting-edge, I can't imagine Enterprise suffering from a single character, even if a few backwards individuals choose to balk.
So I say, yes, please give us a gay character on Star Trek. Not because it's socially revolutionary, not because it will be a good chance to explore complex issues regarding gay rights, but simply because gay people exist and after forty main characters it's time to see one. For that matter, a Middle Eastern character wouldn't hurt, either.
And all of this from a young white male from Texas.
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